Friday, December 10, 2021 — Edition: #7126
Sheet Happens!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ CBS is going back to the well that’s served them…well, WELL for years — pumping out a new reality show that’ll have contestants outwit, outplay and outlast one another – but this time with a celeb twist. Sources say the new, unnamed competition will feature similar challenges to “Survivor” — and will have a similar vibe to what viewers have watched since 2000. Some of the names apparently attached are Colton Underwood, Metta World Peace, Ray Lewis, Jodie Sweetin, “RHONY’s” Eboni K. Williams and model Paulina Porizkova. The series is expected to premiere in April 2022.
-TMZ
★ There are probably a handful of “Happy Days” fans who walked away from this week’s Henry Winkler-themed Bonham’s auction thinking one thing: “Ayyyyyyyyyy, jackpot!” Among the most prized items picked up was the the 1949 Triumph Trophy 500 motorbike that Winkler (aka Fonzie) actually rode on the show, which went for a whopping $231,562. That’s wayyyyyyyy more than the $80-120k that it was expected to fetch. There was a lot more Fonzie stuff up for grabs — including a pair of mechanic overalls that Winkler wore on the show, plus an Army shirt and cowboy boots he donned as Fonzie, which went for between $1,000 and $14,000.
-TMZ
★ Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is officially the champ. He was honored with the People’s Champion Award at the 2021 People’s Choice Awards on Tuesday. During his speech, he recalled meeting with Muhammad Ali at an event for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, adding that working with the organization is a “privilege and an honor.” Then Johnson surprised a teen girl who was in the audience as a Make-a-Wish recipient. He gave her his award because, as he told her: “you represent everything that it means to be a people’s champion.”
-Yahoo
★ Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will continue to split “Jeopardy!” hosting duties through the end of Season 38, which will take the Sony quiz show through July. Bialik has recently been splitting temporary hosting duties on Jeopardy! with Jennings while the game show searches for a full-time replacement for the late Alex Trebek. New episodes are scheduled to air until July 29, 2022 — COVID permitting, of course.
-TheWrap
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Dua Lipa, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rick Ross featuring Jazmine Sullivan
• “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS/CTV): Anna Kendrick, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Atsuko Okatsuka (R)
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Cynthia Nixon, guest co-host Laverne Cox
• “The Talk” (CBS): Adam Rodriguez
• “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (ABC/CTV): Elton John, Katie Couric
• “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (NBC/CTV): Zachary Levi, O’Shea Jackson Jr., guest host “tWitch”
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Nick Offerman, Ariana DeBose, Duff Goldman, Rob Thomas
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Josh Andres Rivera, Machine Gun Kelly, Pilar Valdes
• “A Dickens of a Holiday!” (HALLMARK): To mark the 100th anniversary of a Victorian festival, Cassie invites movie star and former high school classmate Jake to play Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.”
• “Ricky Powell: The Individualist” (SHOWTIME): Photographer Ricky Powell captures the music, fashion and art scene in New York City in the 1980s and ’90s.
SATURDAY-
• “Saturday Night Live” (NBC): Billie Eilish hosts and performs.
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (CBS): The classic 1964 Christmas stop-motion animated special, where Rudolph guides Santa’s sleigh through a bad storm on Christmas Eve.
• “Hot Mess Holiday” (COMEDY): When a young finance exec is dumped by her cheating fiancé during the Diwali holidays, her free-spirited bestie is determined to help her get lit. They take a trip to Chicago, where the pair find a valuable diamond.
SUNDAY-
• “70th Miss Universe” (FOX): Women vie for the crown in the annual pageant in Eilat, Israel; Steve Harvey hosts.
• “108th Grey Cup” (TSN, ESPN2): Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. Hamilton Ti-Cats @ Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field. Halftime show featuring Arkells with special guests The Lumineers
• “Greatest Holiday Commercials Countdown 2021” (CW): Counting down 12 of the world’s best holiday commercials; a look at other great commercials that capture the spirit of the holiday season.
• “A Christmas Proposal” (CBS): Hoping to impress his family during at Christmas, a hotshot attorney asks a down-on-her-luck chef to pose as his girlfriend. Then it becomes complicated.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Silk Sonic – ‘Leave the Door Open’ by the R&B group led by Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak has been named #1 on Rolling Stone’s “The 100 Best Songs of 2021: Staff List”. #2 is Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Good 4 U’.
• Tame Impala – has just released ‘No Choice’ from the forthcoming “The Slow Rush Deluxe Box Set”. The band will hit the road in North American beginning in February. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/ycxj23an
• Mötley Crüe — leads all artists in a poll of visitors to Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, asking who should be inducted among the class of 2022. Iron Maiden sits at #2, with Pat Benatar, Blink 182, Dave Matthews Band, Dolly Parton, Weezer, Cher, Styx and Boston rounding out the top 10.
• Queen — Brian May says he is “OK now”, but medication he took after his 2020 heart attack almost cost him his life. He says the drugs given to him after cardiac surgery “are very, very dangerous”.
• Guns N’ Roses – will co-headline America’s largest rock festival “Welcome To Rockville”, May 19-22 at Daytona International Speedway. Also headlining: Foo Fighters, Kiss and Korn.
• Def Leppard, Duran Duran, Living Colour and Rob Thomas — are among the artists joining the second annual “A Bowie Celebration,” on January 8, what would have been David Bowie’s 75th birthday. The event will be available on https://rollinglivestudios.com/ for 24 hours, with a portion of ticket sales going to the Save the Children organization, a charity important to Bowie.
• Garth Brooks – has announced a March 26 show at Orlando Stadium. At this point, that’s his gig in 2022, and the only Florida stop on his “Stadium Tour”.
• Luke Combs – has now sold over 7 million albums in his career. He was recently awarded Recording Industry Association of America certifications marking his triple-platinum status for 2019s “What You See Is What You Get”, plus 4-million certification for his 2017 debut “This One’s For You”. 5 of his #1 hits were also recognized.
• Blake Shelton — was definitely the country music champion of the fan-voted 2021 People’s Choice Awards on Tuesday. He beat Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, and Miranda Lambert to win Country Artist of 2021. In addition, Shelton’s “The Voice” was voted The Competition Show of 2021.
SHOOTING THE BULL
TODAY’S MOVIE OPENINGS:
• “West Side Story” (PG-13, Musical/Romance): Love at first sight strikes when young Tony spots Maria at a high school dance in 1957 New York. Their burgeoning romance helps to fuel the fire between 2 rival gangs vying for control of the streets. (Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler)
• “Being the Ricardos” (R-Rated, Biography/Drama – limited): A revealing glimpse of the couple’s complex romantic and professional relationship, including being threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear and cultural taboos. (Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem)
• “Don’t Look Up” (R-Rated, Comedy – limited): Two low-level astronomers must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy Earth. (Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep)
• “Agnes” (Horror/Drama – limited): A nun’s disturbing behavior sparks rumors of demonic possession at a remote convent. When a priest-in-waiting and his disillusioned mentor are sent to investigate, their methods backfire, leaving a wake of terror and trauma. (Molly C. Quinn, Sean Gunn)
FELINE DOGGONE GOOD:
⇒ Have you ever got the warm fuzzies from looking at your sleeping dog and wondered what they’re dreaming about? You, probably. According to dog researcher Dr Stanley Coren, author of the book “Do Dogs Dream?”, a series of studies shows that dogs do indeed dream, and because they have similar sleep cycles to humans, researchers speculate that dog dreams are much like ours; they are processing events from the day’s activities. And since you are a big part of your dog’s life, all those walkies, belly rubs, ear scratches and rewards for good behavior probably feature prominently in your pup’s night-time adventures. (How sweet. Perhaps he is also dreaming about the steak he stole off my plate while I was answering the door…)
⇒ It’s easy to call your cat a psychopath when it is batting around a terrified mouse or fighting its sister from halfway up the Christmas tree. But now, scientists at the University of Liverpool have developed a test to measure your feline’s level of psychopathy. It isn’t meant to slap your cat with a disturbing diagnosis, but to find out how kitty’s personality affects its relationship with…you. Available online, the survey measures 46 feline behaviors that can be used to identify a psychopathic pet. To create the test, the researchers asked 549 people about their cats’ levels of boldness, meanness and inhibition – the 3 traits that make up the model of psychopathy in humans. The researchers also feel the test could be used to help animal shelters rehome cats by identifying compatible owners. (They started with 550 owners…but there’s always that ONE psycho cat that loses it…) LINK: https://osf.io/ysb9z/
-ScienceFocus, IFLScience
NEWS OF THE WEIRD:
➢ A marijuana dispensary in Massachusetts has cooked what it claims to be the world’s largest cannabis-infused brownie — an 850lb (385kg) THC treat. MariMed celebrated the launch of its new brand “Bubby’s Baked” by cooking the brownie infused with 20,000 milligrams of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The brownie is 3 feet (.9m) long on each side and 15 inches high (38cm). It dwarfs the Guinness World Record holder for largest brownie, a 234-pounder baked in 2013, but the new creation won’t be considered, because Guinness doesn’t accept cannabis-related records. The awesome concoction, which was unveiled on National Brownie Day on Wed., will be sold to a medical marijuana patient. (Who, believe me, is about to set a whole bunch more records!)
➢ He’s Clark Griswold come-to-life! A Christmas enthusiast has adorned his house with about 30,000 lights and decorations, and to turn them all on, he has to flick 98 switches. 56-year-old Paul Bibby of Essex, England is known on his street for his incredible decorations, and says this, his 16th year – is the “biggest ever”. He spent 3 weeks in November stringing up his 30,000 bulbs on the front and sides of his semi-detached home. The display also features several festive inflatable decorations including a giant Santa and a snowman, which Paul says are popular with kids. Why the effort? He says it’s a way to “put a smile on people’s faces” after a tough couple of years. But there’s also a charity component. He asks visitors to make a donation to the local air ambulance service. (Which will obviously have no trouble finding his house, should there ever be a problem!)
-UPI, LADBible
DID YOU KNOW?
Three out of 4 parents agree: Christmas shopping can be harder than an Olympic sport! A survey of 2,000 parents of school-aged children found that 76% agree that finding the perfect gift is one of the most stressful parts of the holidays. Generally, parents feel confident in their gift-giving skills (86%), with most (81% saying they always help their child’s grandparents decide what gifts to buy for their kids. On average, parents spend 5 hours researching the perfect gift. And 43% say they have had experiences where their child cried or was disappointed after not getting something on their wish list.
-StudyFinds
BS CHRONOMETER 12.10.21
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1952 [69] Susan Dey, Pekin IL, TV actress (“The Partridge Family” 1970-74, “L.A. Law” 1986-1992)
1960 [61] (Sir) Kenneth Branagh, Belfast Northern Ireland, movie actor (“Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets”)/movie director (“Thor”)/screenwriter (“Hamlet”)
1964 [57] Bobby Flay, NYC, TV chef (“Beat Bobby Flay” since 2013, “Boy Meets Grill”)
1972 [49] Andrea Canning, Collingwood ON, journalist (“Dateline NBC” since 2012)
1974 [47] Meg White, Grosse Pointe Farms MI, former rock drummer (White Stripes-‘Seven Nation Army’, ‘Icky Thump’)/married to Jack White 1996-2000
1985 [36] Raven-Symoné, Atlanta GA, TV panelist (“The View” 2015-16)/TV actress (“That’s So Raven” 2002-07, “Kim Possible” 2002-07, “The Cosby Show” 1989-92)
SATURDAY-Brenda Lee (‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’) is 77; Jermaine Jackson (‘Let’s Get Serious’) is 67; Nikki Sixx (Mötley Crüe) is 63; Mo’Nique (“Precious”) is 54; Xosha Roquemore (“The Mindy Project”) is 37; Karla Souza (“How to Get Away With Murder”) is 35; Hailee Steinfeld (“Pitch Perfect 2″) is 25
SUNDAY- Bob Barker (“The Price Is Right”) is 98; Dionne Warwick (‘I Say a Little Prayer’) is 81; Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers) is 78; Bill Nighy (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) is 72; Sheila E. (‘The Glamorous Life’) is 64; Jennifer Connelly (“Requiem for a Dream”) is 51; Mayim Bialik (“Big Bang Theory”) is 46
BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Dewey Decimal Day”, honoring Melville Dewey, born this day in 1851 in Adams Center, NY. At 21, he invented the “Dewey Decimal Classification System” while working as a student assistant in the Amherst College library. For creating this revolutionary filing system, he’s known as the ‘Father of Modern Librarianship’. (Wow, let’s not overDUE it…)
• “International Human Rights Day”, honoring the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
• “Nobel Prize Awards Day”. The awards were established by the will of Swedish chemist (and dynamite inventor) Alfred Nobel and have been held on this date since 1901. The current value of each award is about US $1.1 million.
• “National Lager Day”, lager is typically characterized as a light, summer beer. Most lager is matured or conditioned at a cold temperature, and with a particular yeast, resulting in a “crisp” and “refreshing” taste. The term lager means “storeroom” or “warehouse” in German.
• “Festival for the Souls of Dead Whales”, to celebrate and memorialize all whales that have died. Whales can live more than 200 years, and provide minerals and vitamins to the Inuit people who hunt them. Today, you’re invited to watch a documentary about whales or ‘speak whale’ like ‘Dory’ in “Finding Nemo”. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/bfle7mp
• “National Salesperson Day”, honoring those gifted and creative individuals whose big kick in life is persuading others to spend a buck. (We were going to buy lunch for the station sales team, but it seems they’ve already left for the day…)
SATURDAY-
• “National App Day”, “App” was named word of the year in 2010 by the American Dialect Society. Apps have changed how we work, live and play. They have created thousands of new companies, millions of new jobs and billions of dollars in revenue (and a lot of bad puns…)
• “International Mountain Day”, first declared by the UN in 2002 to draw attention to the important role that mountainous regions play in our water and food supply. (OK…but why?)
• “National Noodle Ring Day”, a noodle ring is, rather predictably, made from noodles – especially flat, tagliatelle type egg noodles. It’s made using a ring mold, or a Bundt tray, with ingredients including cheese, eggs, and flour, along with the noodles.
• “UNICEF Birthday”, the anniversary of the creation of UNICEF in 1946. What does it stand for? “The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund”
• “National Have a Bagel Day”, here are 5 things to know about the bagel:
– The bagel originated in Poland and it was designed for Lent.
– Its name derives from the Yiddish word ‘bengal’, meaning ‘ring’ or ‘bracelet’. Immigrant Polish-Jews brought the bagel to the United States.
– The hole in the center is for multiple bagels to be threaded onto a dowel, which allows bakers to transport them more easily. (And so melted peanut butter can leak onto your hand more easily…)
– Automated production and distribution of frozen bagels started in the 1960s with bagel bakers Harry Lender, Murray Lender, and Florence Sender.
SUNDAY-
• “Fresh Breath Day”, if you’re average, you have over 10 billion bacteria in your mouth right now. Some of them churn out stinky chemicals such as hydrogen sulphide, the same gas that gives rotten eggs their odor. Some germs release putrescine, another sulfurous compound that has the essence of rotting meat. (***Ask listeners for old folk remedies for bad breath, like chewing cloves or scraping your tongue with a spoon.***)
• “Gingerbread House Day”, time to get at it if you want one in time for the holidays. Also known as “Eat Yourself Out of House and Home Day”.
• “Poinsettia Day”, honoring Dr Joel Roberts Poinsett (1799-1851), the US diplomat to Mexico who introduced the plant to the U.S. in 1825. Now a favorite decoration for the holiday season, about 60 million are grown in North America each year. Although proper pronunciation of the word DOES include the ‘e’ sound prior to the last syllable (poin-SET-ee-uh), many dictionaries now also accept the more commonly used ‘poin-SETTA’ pronunciation.
• “National Ambrosia Day”, the mythical “food of the gods,” a heavenly treat for we mortals at any time of the year. This cool and creamy citrus fruit salad is a light and tasty side dish or dessert.
• “National Ding-a-Ling Day”, brace yourself for bizarre and crazy behavior from all of the people you encounter today. Even normally conservative people have been known to go a little crazy on this day.
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2005 [16] Comedian Richard Pryor dies of heart failure at 65 after battling Multiple Sclerosis since 1986
2009 [11] James Cameron’s 3-D sci-fi epic “Avatar” has its world premiere in London (becomes the highest-grossing movie of all-time at $2.8 billion)
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
1984 [37] The African famine relief song ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ by Band Aid is released (…in North America – it had been released in the UK one week earlier)
2005 [16] After 5 years of dating, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood tie the knot in a private ceremony at their home in Owasso, Oklahoma
2007 [14] Led Zeppelin play a one-off show at the O2 Arena in London, the biggest reunion in rock history. John Bonham’s son, Jason, plays drums at the show, a benefit for late Atlantic records president Ahmet Ertegun’s Education Fund
TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
2012 [09] Colorado makes marijuana legal for recreational use (the first state to do so)
2013 [08] General Motors appoints Mary Barra its CEO, making her the first female to become the chief executive of an automotive company
TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1964 [57] Reverend Martin Luther King Jr is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at age 35, the youngest ever to win the award
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK FACTS:
✓ A warthog has just 4 warts, all of them on its head.
✓ Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you’re simply standing still.
✓ Your ears secrete more earwax when you’re afraid than when you aren’t.
✓ Our senses of taste and smell are reduced 50% and 20% during flights. That’s why airplane food doesn’t taste so great.
✓ You can’t sneeze in your sleep because your brain shuts down the reflex.
✓ The man said to have the longest beard in the world, died in 1567 after tripping over it while running from a fire.
-Factinate, BathroomReadersInstitute
Best of BS . . .
BS LIQUORING UP LITERATURE FOR THE WEEKEND:
• Tequila Mockingbird
• The Call of the Wild Turkey
• Wino the Pooh
• Olive With a Twist
• Jonathan Livingston Seagram’s
• 50 Shades of Grey Goose
• From Beer to Eternity
• The Handmaid’s Ale
• The Johnny Walker Red Badge of Courage
• Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margarita
• The Last Call of the Wild
-Twitter, first published in BS in 2019
TODAY’S SCOOP OF BS:
➠ Kate Hudson says she and her mom Goldie Hawn can communicate with the dead. (In fact, just last week, they were talking to their careers!)
➠ In an interview, Ryan Gosling once said that after watching the movie “Rambo,” he brought a knife to school and started throwing it at people. (That’s nothing! You should have seen what Lindsay Lohan did after watching “Basic Instinct”!)
➠ Scientists say the level of Arctic Sea ice is now at an all-time low. (They haven’t seen ice disappear this quickly . . . since Vanilla.)
➠ Fact: The fastest-moving muscle in the human body is the one that opens and closes the eyelid. (Second fastest? The one that quickly hits the “escape” button on your computer when the boss walks in!)
➠ NASA says warp drive may soon become a reality. (“Star Trek” fans thought they’d NEVER see this in real life. Sorry. Thinking of boobies.)
BS WEB GOODIE:
Weekend plans: https://tinyurl.com/vr8jd2tx
BS RANDOM JOKE:
Last year, I asked my wife what she wanted for Christmas. She told me “Nothing would make me happier than a diamond necklace” So I bought her nothing.
BS PHONE STARTER:
What, to you, is the greatest Christmas movie of all-time?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: When it comes to holiday shopping, men are more likely than women to do THIS. What is it?
Answer: Shop online at work
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Let your joy be in your journey—not in some distant goal.